A Place For Me?
by Major Mike Powell III
Summary: Co-Op with Yurichan220: Maki is a maiden in love with her fellow first-year members of Muse, Hanayo and Rin. However, she knows that her beloved friends are happily in love with each other. She thinks she has no chance, there's no place for her...However, she'll get a special surprise at the single ring of a doorbell. Read'n Review for the love of the first years. Hoo-rrah!


**A Place For Me?**

**By YuriFan300 and Major Mike Powell III**

She was in love. With not one, but two people: Hanayo and Rin.

Maki's feelings for her fellow first-years blossomed since she allowed them to call her by her first name and vice versa. However, she won't admit it to either of them since…she already knows that Hanayo and Rin were a happy couple. She knew this just a little while after Honoka decided to quit Muse, as she was haunted by her collapse in their previous concert and tormented by the impending departure of Muse' designer and one of the ginger's childhood friends, Kotori. This prompted the school idol group to go on hiatus.

Sometime after that, Maki was witness to Hanayo confessing her love to Rin, a confession born out of urgency after having a front row seat to the nigh implosion of a long-standing friendship that day on the school's roof. Though, nobody other than Honoka, Umi and Kotori knew what was _really_ going on behind the scenes, or between the lines, so to speak…

It was a wonderful occasion, Hanayo's confession; the honey-brunette had taken Rin's hands, intertwined their fingers and hesitated just the slightest bit. She then stumbled on her own words to tell her childhood friend that she loved her with all her heart. The cat-like girl took it in stride and reciprocated Hanayo's love with her usual cat grin and she meowed softly after the end of their ensuing kiss.

The girls were startled out of their affection-induced trance by the upset guffaws of the alpacas whose stables Hanayo and Rin had just shared their first kiss at. The girls freaked out and tried to appease the fluffy animals.

On the other side of the stables, Maki leaned against the wall, her arms crossed over her chest, her nails digging into her uniform's blazer as she clenched her hands into her crossed arms. Her violet eyes trembled and soon, began to sting with bitter tears that not even the redhead was stubborn enough to try and stop from spilling.

She shook her head and walked off and away from the two friends she adored with all her maiden heart…which was now cracked, nigh shattered. She locked herself in the school's music club, sat down on the stool before the piano, placed her nimble fingers on the ivory keys…and then, wept.

The next day, Maki met her two friends at the school's entrance, acting as aloof and cool as usual. Rin came running at the redhead, glomping her and hugging her tightly, she was so excited. The orange-head continued to cuddle Maki as Hanayo walked up to them and gently tried to pull Rin off of Maki. Rin let her and then, linked her and Hanayo's arms with a dazzling smile.

"Hey, Maki-chan, Maki-chan-nya~!" Rin gushed. "Guess what? Kayo-chin and I are now a couple- nya! Isn't that awesome-nya!?"

A part of Maki wanted to smack that silly cat-grin off of Rin's face…but she couldn't do that, obviously…and the girl's adorable smile was mildly contagious.

"I-I see…well, hey, that's g-great. C-Congratulations…" She stuttered and looked away, the tone of her beautiful voice betraying the joy she wanted her friends to think she felt. However, she underestimated them. Well…one of them, anyway. Hanayo blinked, her lovely amethyst eyes looking at Maki with concern.

"Um, uh, Maki-chan? Are you okay?" The honey-brunette's voice clearly transmitted her concern and a clear touch of sadness. "You don't sound very happy…"

She may be heartbroken as a result of Rin and Hanayo's new relationship and her own lack of drive and courage to at least confess to both girls before they confessed to each other. She may have lost her chance…but Maki was still a tsundere, and even if what Hanayo just said was very, very true...

The composer blushed hotly and looked away, turning on her heel and walking off into the school's building, not without a yelp of "I-I'm perfectly fine! S-Stop asking me stupid questions! Dummies!"

Hayano and Rin exchanged looks of concern as Maki disappeared from their sight. Rin scratched the back of her neck and Hanayo bit her lower lip a bit. The honey-brunette felt there was something Maki was not telling them…and even Rin shared that feeling, too.

For almost all of the school day, Maki made the choice to keep her distance from her fellow first-years, meaning she didn't talk much and walked just a single pace behind her friends in love. She was mature and savvy enough to know that the whole "complete avoidance and the cold shoulder" cliché only worked in dramas and poorly-written anime.

Maki honestly did not want to be a bother or to stop Rin and Hanayo from enjoying whichever display of affection they wanted to give each other. Maki would not interfere with her beloved friends' relationship. She was not that selfish. But still, a part of her cried out to just step in between Hanayo and Rin, take their hands and walk side-by-side-by-side with them…it wasn't like she could just turn to somebody else within Muse for comfort, like her obnoxious, diminutive senior with the ridiculous hand gestures, Nico. Maki was not that desperate.

After school had ended and Maki had parted ways with Rin and Hanayo, the redhead felt like taking the scenic route home, since she just wanted to clear her head, perhaps come up with a tune, or a song to play on the piano, something to try and take her mind off of the relationship she was a witness to the previous day and that still haunted her.

Along her way, she passed by a simple grocery store. She decided to go in and grab a snack. She could do with something salty right now, and she had a balanced-enough diet to spare some extra calories. It wasn't like she wouldn't be able to burn them off with idol practice whenever Muse was back in full force. It was only a matter of time. Maki knew Honoka would get her drive back eventually.

Bottom line: Maki wanted a snack, and she deserved it.

She thought she would be free of Hanayo and Rin for the rest of the day, but she was wrong. She almost panicked and dropped her bag of potato chips when she saw Hanayo standing at the cash register, fiddling with pocket change to buy two cups of yoghurt. Maki grumbled under her breath.

"Oh come on! This is like some lame fanfiction written by a twelve-year-old pretending to genre-savvy…" She shook her head to rid her soft cheeks of the blush.

Maki let out a sigh, which may or may not have been a little too exaggerated and put the bag of potato chips back in its designated shelf. All of a sudden, the redhead did not feel hungry anymore. She just wanted to go home and take a nap. She would ask her chef to cook some French fries for dinner, anyway.

Her mind made up, Maki walked (stormed) off, and she thought she was discreet enough as she walked out of the store, but she was wrong. Hanayo turned away from the cashier lady with her small bag of yoghurt in hand, just to see the retreating figure of Maki and her beautiful scarlet hair. The honey-brunette fished her cellphone out of her pocket and dialed a number she knew from the heart.

After the call had ended, Hanayo flipped her phone shut and held her hand over her heart, looking wistfully in the direction of her fellow first-year's home.

_**Love Live!~**_

Upon stepping past the threshold of her manor, Maki greeted her mother, taking the time to take off her shoes and put on her slippers (she was not so frustrated that she would forget her manners) and headed straight to her room.

A tired sigh escaped her lips after the back of her head landed on her big pillow upon plopping down on her queen-sized (or princess-shaped, perhaps?) bed and she placed her forearm over her eyes. She sighed again, softly this time.

"Huh…I seem to be sighing a lot today…" She muttered to herself.

The confession she witnessed the day prior…it still haunted her.

"Will I ever get a chance…?" The words escaped her before she could will herself to not voice that thought. She knew the answer was a big "NO". Loving two people equally was ridiculous and never worked out, not in real life, at least. And also, Hanayo and Rin were happily in love. There was no room for Maki in there…but she wanted to walk between them, hold their hands, share a kiss with any one of the two…at least tell them, to their faces, that Maki loved them.

She just wanted a chance. Just one-

Maki was startled out of her wishful thinking by the ringing of her door bell. She waited for a bit, but gritted her teeth once the door bell's chime went off again. Her mother seemed to be busy.

With yet another tired sigh, Maki slipped out of her room and went to the door. She really did not need this right now…

Maki's stunning violet eyes widened in surprise and a hot blush stained her lovely cheeks a healthy red upon seeing the people outside her door.

"H-hello, Maki-chan," Hanayo said in her adorable, soft voice, giving her redheaded friend a friendly wave. Then, her vision was filled with beautiful, shining topaz eyes and a cat-like grin.

"Hi, Maki-chan-nya!" Rin chimed in, giving Maki the peace sign, or "V" for "Victory".

Maki's blush got even redder at the sight of her two first-year friends. Why were they here?

"Maki-chan?" Hanayo says. "Is something the matter?" That snapped Maki out of her daze and she shook her head to clear her mind and tried to regain her trademark composure.

"N-No," Maki replied quietly, turning away. "I-I didn't really expect you two to be here at this time, a-and I'm kind of tired…"

"We were both wondering why you were acting weird today at school-nya," Rin said. "So, Kayo-chin called me and told me to come by your house to see what was wrong-nya."

Maki's heart fluttered gently. 'Th-they came to see me…? Did they notice…?' Her thoughts began to race, but she tried to slow her mind down a bit to remember her manners and let her friends into her home. She stepped aside.

"U-Um, come in," Maki invited and the girls outside her home nodded and walked in with a joint "Pardon the intrusion". "This…um, let's go to the living room so we can talk."

Hanayo and Rin nodded as they followed the familiar path to the Nishikino manor's living room. Once they were all seated, nothing but awkward silence ensued as the two lovers sat next to each other on the big couch while Maki sat on the small arm chair across from them, with the ever-present glass coffee table standing between them. Hanayo's questioning, beautiful eyes gazed at Maki and the girl noticed the redhead nervously fiddling with her hands.

Hanayo had been the one to think of coming over with Rin to talk to their friend, but now that they were sitting across from her, she realized she had not quite planned that far ahead.

Maki was about to stand up to go and bring in some tea or a snack, but the honey-brunette gathered her courage and leaned forward on her seat.

"U-Um! Maki-chan!"

"E-Eh? Yes?" The girl squirmed a little under that beautiful violet gaze, and Rin and Maki noticed, by the way Hanayo was now the one fiddling with her fingers.

"I-I know you were feeling a bit…um…I mean, I've felt since this morning that…perhaps there's something you're not telling us, Maki-chan…Rin-chan and I share this feeling…when we revealed to you that Rin-chan and I are together…you seemed down, sad..." Hanayo looked Maki straight in the eye as she spoke, even if her voice wavered. "So, Maki-chan…what's going on? Why are you sad?"

Maki blushed, looking away. "I-It's kind of…hard to explain…"

Rin then jumped into the conversation. She was having trouble keeping still and letting her beloved friend do all the talking. "Please, Maki-chan! We want to help you-nya!"

Maki's lower lip quivered as she looked down, her scarlet bangs hiding her eyes. A second or two passed in utter silence, and then, Hanayo's brows furrowed.

"Maki-chan…are you…are you really _that _sad that Rin-chan and I are in love?"

Maki jumped up, blushing hotly and curling her hands into fists at her sides. "Wh-Why would I be sad about that!? You two are my friends! Like, the first real friends I've had in so very long…and you two are in love! I'm…I am…I'm happy for you two, really! But…I just…I still feel sad…because…because I…ahhh, mou!" She sat back down, clutching the edge of her skirt. Her shoulders shook as she tried to hold in her tears after that outburst.

Then, Maki felt hands, soft and delicate, touch and hold her own. She looked up and her eyes met the amethyst gaze of Hanayo.

"Maki-chan…that look on your face…I know that look. I know I've looked like that, myself. You're in love…but, with who…?" She asked, slowly and carefully, as if treading through uncharted waters.

Maki's response was so low in volume, so softly uttered, that neither of her friends could hear her as she said "Both of you".

The confused looks on her beloved friends' faces forced Maki to blurt it out, loud and clear this time.

"Both of you! Rin, Hanayo, **I love both of you!**"

The objects of Maki's affections gasped and exchanged looks of utter surprise, yet not quite shock. Several seconds of awkward silence ensued, yet Rin was the one to break the tense atmosphere by sitting down next to Maki.

"Why didn't you tell us-nya?" She asked. The redheaded tsundere looked small and fragile as she replied, her eyes downcast.

"B-Because…you two are already a couple. I…I wanted to confess to both of you…but you actually beat me to it. I know…I thought that if I got in the way, things would get complicated…and I don't want that! I want you two to be happy…! I really…really do…" A few rebellious, stray tears slipped past Maki's closed eye lids and slid down her smooth, blushing cheeks. Yet her eyes flew open upon feeling the tender touch of Hanayo on her cheek, gently wiping the tears away. Violet met amethyst as their eyes gazed at each other.

"But, Maki-chan…are you sure that's what you really want?"

"Huh?" Maki blinked.

"Maki-chan, if you love both of us, then, Rin-chan and I will accept your feelings," Hanayo said and promptly dazzled Maki with one of her rare, beautiful smiles. "We don't mind having one more person."

Maki's cute mouth hung open in shock, and her cheeks burned hotter than ever before. "But…but that's…that's impossible! There's no way that would work! I…I'd just be a third wheel!"

"But Maki-chan, Kayo-chin is right-nya! We won't mind one bit! Rin and Kayo-chain will give it their all so Maki-chan won't be lonely-nya~!" Rin insisted as she swooped in with a tight hug, nuzzling her face into the crook of Maki's neck. "Maki-chan is important, too! She needs love too-nya~! There's always one more place for Maki-chan, right here with us-nya~"

"One more place…for me?" Maki looked down at the bob-cut that was Rin's head on her chest and Hanayo's smiling face, and her eyes shone with new tears as the beautiful honey-brunette took Maki's hand in hers and intertwined their fingers. They were a perfect match.

"Of course!" Hanayo did not let go of Mak's hand as she got closer to wrap her arm around her other side. "So, pleas, Maki-chan. Be with us. We can all be happy. This can work. We can make it work."

"Maki-chan~" Rin purred, looking up at her and Hanayo's new girlfriend, her voice a teasing chime. "Are you crying?"

Maki flinched, trying to turn away, but only seeing Rin and Hanayo on either side of her. She let the tears flow in joy even as she tried to be the tsundere they all adored. "I-I'm not crying! I just…got something in my eye, that's all!"

Maki smiled like never before as she felt her beloved friends, now official girlfriends, touch her cheeks with her lips at the same time.

"We'll be there for you, Maki-chan," Hanayo whispered, cuddling closer to the redhead.

"Both of us," Rin added, nuzzling closer, purring away. "We're here for you-nya~"

Maki closed her eyes, smiling away, letting her beloveds' warmth and love wrap around her like a blanket, happier than she ever was, even happier than when she joined Muse alongside the two girls she adored.

_~FIN~_

**Authors' Notes:**

Well, that sure was fun~

Yuri-chan: It sure is! It's our first time writing together. (giggles)

Also, for you, our lovely readers, you should know that this tale here is part of a bigger story. You see, Yuri-chan has written 2 stories, starring the second year childhood friends, Umi, Honoka and Kotori, and the third year seniors of Muse, Nico, Eri and Nozomi, starting their own three-way romantic relationships. So, you see, this one-shot here is part of that continuity, forming a trilogy of threesomes. Sounds nice, eh? :3

You can think of it like Marvel's Cinematic Universe. LOL Pretty neat, huh Yuri-chan~?

Yuri-chan: Yes, it really is!

So, if you want to get the whole picture, so to speak, please, do go and read Yuri-chan's 2 other "Love Live!" stories, "Backstage Love" and "A Sweet, Loving Night". You won't regret it~

So, in closing, writing this little one-shot here with Yuri-chan was a total joy, given the fact that I've never actually written a story with Maki, Hanayo and Rin as the stars, so this was a bit of a learning experience for me as well. So, thank you, Yuri-chan, for letting me ride with you. :3

Yuri-chan: It was my pleasure, Mikey-kun! (bows)

And we hope you guys and girls will not let our efforts go unrewarded, and leave us a nice review, 'k? Both here and in the other 2 tales of this continuity: "Backstage Love" for HonokaxUmixKotori and "A Sweet, Loving Night" for ErixNicoxNozomi. Have fun~!

So, until the next story~

Semper-Fi! Carry on!


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